Michigan State's defense has not lived up to its standards in recent years. The Spartans finished 102nd in the nation last season in rushing defense as the team allowed 178.6 yards per game and 4.29 yards per carry.
Sure, the Spartans played some tough competition, but those underwhelming stats have resulted in added pressure on fourth-year defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Scottie Hazelton from the fan base.
Of course, the struggles in pass defense have been well-documented for MSU over the past couple of years, but the rush defense has been a main focus so far in fall camp. The coaches and players have made that clear.
Hazelton knows that those rush defense numbers need to improve and it starts with the defensive front, which is playing at a “pretty good” level according to Hazelton at this point through fall camp.
“With the guys up front, we're pretty excited with those guys,” Hazelton said to the media about the defensive line. “There's a ton of depth up front. It feels different with those guys, having some defensive ends in camp and a lot of depth and guys can rotate through and stay fresh and do their job. Inside, we've got some really good football players in there that are clogging things up.”
Why is he being optimistic? First of all, Hazelton likes some of the newcomers along the defensive line, including Tunmise Adeleye out of Texas A&M. He said that Adeleye adds some “toughness and quality” to the edge of the defensive line.
Hazelton has also been impressed with Jalen Sami, who transferred to MSU from Colorado this offseason. He said that Sami is a “ready-made football player” despite only being in East Lansing for a few months.
Sami stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 330 pounds. That’s the type of size and beef that Hazelton can throw at opponents to wear them down alongside edge rushers like Zion Young (6-foot-6, 260 pounds), Brandon Wright (6-foot-2, 250 pounds), Andrew Depaepe (6-foot-5, 235 pounds) and more.
“When you have depth and you can say, 'OK, Zion (Young) is here and then Brandon Wright’s here and then the very next play you got a guy like Andrew Depaepe there.' They're all big, physical guys and to do that to a tight end or a tackle … you can wear a guy down,” Hazelton said.
“And then, when you can stop the run, then your (pass) rush becomes real because now instead of getting bled for a bunch of third (down)-and-threes, now you're sitting at third-and-eight and now you go, 'OK, now we can let the guys go hunt.’”
Along with the depth, the overall size of the defensive line is something that Hazelton commented on in a positive way.
“There's some big dudes up there and it's wonderful to see,” Hazelton said about the defensive line room. "You look like a little tiny kid hanging out with them. And that's what I want it to look like, but we're excited about that. There's a bunch of big, long dudes and you don't notice it all the time until you get next to them.”
